Noida lift crash: 4 more workers die

Four more workers who were hospitalised after a service lift crashed at an under-construction society in Noida Extension succumbed to their injuries on Saturday, raising the death toll in the accident to eight, officials said.

A financial aid of Rs 25 lakh each has been granted to families of those killed, a senior officer said.

Police said they have made the first arrest in the case after nabbing a general manager of the contractual construction company involved in the project.

The lift had nine workers in it when it fell from the 14th floor of the under-construction tower at an Amrapali Dream Valley project site in Noida Extension, also known as Greater Noida (West), on Friday.

The long-stalled project is being completed by state-run NBCC under monitoring of the Supreme Court.

"Four workers died after the accident on Friday. Five of them were admitted to the district hospital in critical condition. Of these, four more have succumbed to the injuries while one worker is still undergoing treatment," District Magistrate Manish Verma told PTI.

The victims have been identified as Uttar Pradesh natives Arbaaz Ali (19) from Meerut, Kuldeep Pal (20) from Kannauj, Maan Ali (20) from Balrampur and Mohammad Ali Khan (18) from Amroha, the police said in a statement Saturday.

The four workers who died on Friday were Ishtaq Ali (23) from Bihar's Balrampur, Arun Tanti Mandal (40) from Banka, Vipot Mandal (45) from Katihar and Aris Khan (22) from Uttar Pradesh's Amroha.

Of the compensation amount, Rs 20 lakh is from NBCC and Rs 5 lakh from the court's receiver (for the project), Verma said.

"NBCC has already handed over the cheques for those killed on Friday and similar compensation will be provided to those who passed away on Saturday," the district magistrate told PTI.

One worker, Mohd Kaif (21), is currently in a critical condition in the ICU of a hospital, the district magistrate said, after meeting the victims.

He said the police are sealing under-construction buildings near the spot as part of the investigation.

Asked about some workers' claims of inadequate safety measures at the project site, Verma said, "We are looking into these claims and will have all under-construction sites inspected for safety violations. If any laxity is found that will also come to the fore during investigation, suitable action will be taken against those guilty."

Devendra Sharma, a general manager with Girdhari Lal Construction -- the company hired by NBCC -- was arrested on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Suniti said.

"The private company has several general managers. Sharma was responsible for construction work on the tower where the lift crashed," Suniti told PTI.

An FIR was lodged on Friday at the local Bisrakh police station and nine people, including NBCC officials, were booked for negligence and culpable homicide, among others, according to the police.

"Meanwhile, the NBCC has also launched an inquiry into the matter," an official of the state-run construction company told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

The NBCC, the official said, has already released the compensation cheques and is bearing medical expenses of the injured worker.

The district administration and the local Greater Noida Authority have also launched separate probes into the episode.